Toronto Star to launch tablet edition next year
Canada's largest circulation newspaper, the Toronto Star, announced Wednesday plans for a tablet edition in the new year, following in the footsteps of another major local newspaper.
The Star, which boasts three million readers weekly, said it has reached a deal with Montreal French-language daily La Presse to develop its new tablet edition, based on La Presse's proprietary tablet technology.
The interactive multimedia tablet edition is expected to launch in the fall of 2015, the Star said in a statement.
The duo will also offer joint marketing opportunities to national advertisers "who desire access to an important critical mass of French and English readers," it said.
Star publisher John Cruickshank said the move is "another important step forward for our industry."
La Presse introduced its tablet edition last year, and Cruickshank said he was "impressed" by its pickup notably by younger readers.
The Star's parent Torstar, meanwhile, announced deeper quarterly losses of Can$87 million (US$76 million), up Can$6.8 million (US$6.0 million) from the previous quarter.
Torstar president David Holland pointed to "continued shifts in spending by advertisers" from print to online and mobile news platforms.
"We expect continued challenges in print advertising revenues combined with relative stability in multi-platform subscriber revenues" over the coming year, he said.
© 2014 AFP
